1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to objects useful in playing games and, more particularly, is concerned with a tagging stick designed to permit body contact in many contact games involving younger players by allowing an alternative to using their hands or other devices, thereby permitting harmless hitting of the stick against the players and to further provide a tagging stick which produces loud popping noises likely to interest the young players in utilizing the tagging stick.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional wisdom suggests that physical contact between players and objects, such as balls, with the players is an essential ingredient for a game to be fun. Widespread popularity of the so-called "act" sports attests to the prevalence of this point of view. However, satisfaction gained from participation in such sports is accompanied by a relatively high risk of physical injury to the participants. The probability and seriousness of physical injury is accentuated when such contact games involve younger players, such as youngsters in their preteen years, primarily because of the immaturity of their physical development and motor skills.
Many games played by youths in these age groups incorporate a body tagging feature, applied either by the hand of a participant or by a thrown or kicked object, such as a particle-filled bag commonly called a bean bag or a pressurized ball referred to as kick ball. While involving less risk of bodily injury than the major contact sports, these tagging games still carry a significant risk that, whether by accident or a deliberate act, sufficient contact will be applied to cause serious injury. Therefore, the desirability of finding an alternative which reduces the opportunity for harmful physical contact in these younger age groups is readily apparent.
Consideration has been given heretofore to designing devices which are soft and may, therefore, be used in tagging type games. Some specific examples in the prior art of such tagging devices are a round foam ball called a Nerf ball, a large cylindrical vinyl-covered foam bat gripped by both hands being marketed under the Com-Bat tradename, a pillow-soft club-like cylindrical device with a molded grip and padded handguard called a Bataca Bat, a large cylindrical foam bat with an enclosed handgrip named a Deluxe Encounter Bat and a soft and pliable foam duelling sword identified as a Boffer sword. While the intentions behind all of these devices are commendable, they appear to be capable of use only in a few different ways. Thus, they are unlikely to capture and hold the interest of the broad population of youngsters and would probably only be used infrequently and then only for short durations. Furthermore, and more importantly, these devices are not capable of producing loud popping noises despite the fact that the toy is soft, lightweight, and pliable.
Consequently, a need still exists for a tagging device which, while soft, is safer to use and is capable of being used in a wide variety of different ways by youngsters and is able to produce loud noises and, therefor, having universal appeal to them in order to ensure its acceptance as the medium of contact which will be used in their games.